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Fun with the Leica SL (digital)

scott kirkpatrick

Well-known member
I'd post pics of my cats but this is an SL thread and I dont have an SL. ...

I bet Rosie who looks like a most wonderful cat would set all my pets straight and keep them in line.
We get our cats from the streets of Jerusalem, usually as rescues when something has taken them from their mothers. With mild winters, cats flourish. (Dogs have much more restricted lives, as this is a country of apartments.) You can see the most recent addition, just under 2 months old, in the M43 thread, either in "Fun with Olympus M" or "7-14 mm Pro" threads. She's adorable, but with some street heritage, critters around us need to watch out. We get frequent presents of lizards and snakes, even birds.

scott
 

D&A

Well-known member
Hi Scott,

As you well know, feral cats are an issue here in the States and of course elsewheres. Ours are adopted rescue cats too but one rarely finds Persians on the streets. They are generally abandoned or abused by their owners or given up by those who can no longer take care of them. Reason for picking the breed is their demeanor works extremely welll with our parricular breed of rescue dogs. No capacity to leave us gifts like mice or birds but there is always Hanukkah for that (gifts) :)

Your cats are lovely indeed!

Dave (D&A)
 
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D&A

Well-known member
Tom, Congrats! Really lookimg forward to your assessment of the SL system along with others who now have the SL. You are in the position of having used on a regular basis the T, M and S systems to compare with. Not sure of your past experience with the R but everyones perspective when all added up gives a well rounded idea of where thr SL atrengths and weaknesses are. No one system does everything well but the SL is intriguing from the standpoint of being designed with multiple systems of Leica lenses being used with it.

Dave (D&A)
 
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Godfrey

Well-known member
I tried to collect reasons not to buy the SL but in the end I decided (there are also some good reasons why the SL does make sense for me ) buy it and even the first time after using it outside I liked the combo and the responsiveness a lot. also from a handling point of view the Zoom (with its weight) felt much better than I thought it would.
The good thing: Leica helps to reduce gear ;) I sell 1 other brand body and 6 lenses to buy one body and one lens:bugeyes:
Well, I havent used that other system much any more anyways.
Cant say anything about SL IQ yet, but I am sure it will be fine for what I want to use the camera, and if color is not 100% here I assume profiles will improve as well.
I hope you enjoy the SL as much as I do.

G
 

jkjod

Member
Hi Dave, I am very happy with the SL, and will post a variety of my activities with the camera over the past week...It's been a fun week with M, R, and SL lenses...







That set of Flickr with the Noct at the UW football game is pretty awesome - unique take on sports with the Noct, especially with your sideline access. Love seeing stuff like that!
 

jonoslack

Active member
For all of the complaints about the FF mirrorless cameras not being absolutely perfect with rangefinder lenses they've still come a long way from where we were 5-7 years ago (when even Leica wasn't sure that a FF Rangefinder could be made at a semi-reasonable price.) I've found for most pictures that's aren't purely landscape it doesn't matter if the extreme corners are slightly smeared but color casting can ruin a color image.
Hi There Tre
I think that smearing is a purely Sony phenomenon - certainly it's not visible on the SL with any of the lenses I've used (lots). Added to which, again, on the Sony it's not the extreme corners, with some lenses it's a significant part of the frame.

Whilst the M240 performs a little better than the SL (as Sean Reid has demonstrated), the SL is a whole quantum leap better than the A7 cameras - which is hardly surprising, not only does it have a much thinner cover glass, but it has firmware corrections and modified microlenses too.

I'm only saying this as you seem to be clumping together all mirrorless cameras, and I dont think that's right.

The A7s are fantastic with the native lenses, and of course with the Zeiss lenses designed to go with them.

I think it's a truism that you will get the best performance out of native lenses . . . . which in the case of the SL means T, M, R, S and SL lenses - all have proper lens corrections, and the sensor for the SL has been designed with these lenses in mind.
 

jonoslack

Active member
These were taken yesterday with the SL with the Leica T 18-56 zoom 12500 ISO
good fast AF - of course it's

L1020259-Edit.jpg

L1020240-Edit.jpg
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
... I think that smearing is a purely Sony phenomenon ...
Not entirely ... I saw corner/edge smearing with a couple of lenses when I was using the Panasonic G1 (Micro-FourThirds format) ... but it's certainly most visible and most intrusive on FF format sensors.

G

- - - Updated - - -

These were taken yesterday with the SL with the Leica T 18-56 zoom 12500 ISO
good fast AF - of course it's
... just too darn cute. :)

G
 
V

Vivek

Guest
Hi There Tre
I think that smearing is a purely Sony phenomenon - certainly it's not visible on the SL with any of the lenses I've used (lots). Added to which, again, on the Sony it's not the extreme corners, with some lenses it's a significant part of the frame.
I have examples of Panasonic (m43) phenomena and Leica (MM) phenomena with similar characteristics. :)
 

Paratom

Well-known member
Tom, Congrats! Really lookimg forward to your assessment of the SL system along with others who now have the SL. You are in the position of having used on a regular basis the T, M and S systems to compare with. Not sure of your past experience with the R but everyones perspective when all added up gives a well rounded idea of where thr SL atrengths and weaknesses are. No one system does everything well but the SL is intriguing from the standpoint of being designed with multiple systems of Leica lenses being used with it.

Dave (D&A)
Well, I once had a DMR with several lenses but found it problematic to accurately focus those on the DMR/R9. In film times I have always been more an M shooter than R shooter.
I am sure the SL is great for R glass but I dont plan to buy R lenses at the moment. But I still own a 100 Apo Macro Elmarit.
One lens I am looking forward to check out on the SL is a Zeiss 85/2.0 - which I find not easy to focus on the M.
I just like the IQ and also the simple user interface of Leica cameras, even though in case of the SL with AF and video etc. the menues and options become more compared to an M or T.
 

D&A

Well-known member
Thanks for the background info Tom. Interestingly if you are refering to the Zeiss ZM 85mm f2.0, I recall it was more difficult to focus on a M than say either the Leica 90mm f2.0 AA or its predisessor. May have something to do with long vs. short focusing throw.

Dave (D&A)
 

Paratom

Well-known member
Thanks for the background info Tom. Interestingly if you are refering to the Zeiss ZM 85mm f2.0, I recall it was more difficult to focus on a M than say either the Leica 90mm f2.0 AA or its predisessor. May have something to do with long vs. short focusing throw.

Dave (D&A)
And of course lens and body/rangefinder have to fit.

I think I will use mainly the 24-90 Zoom on the SL (because I think it makes sense to use an AF lens on the SL and maybe the 35FLE and 50 APO and some longer M lenses. For my taste I would have been more interested in a smaller 70-200 SL lens than a 70-300. But then 70-300 is a nice mixture between a 70-200 and a 80-400. My feeling: Leica tries to avoid direct competition.
They announce the S system in between FF and medium format to not have to compete with either, they brought the Q with 28mm to not have to compete directly with the RX1, they brought the SL (with EVF) to not directly compete with Canikon DLSRs, an same is valid for the choice of 24-90/2.8-4.0 and 70-300/2.8-4.0.
I dont mean this in a negative way. They allways seem to find a way to smartly place a new product which is unique.

I feel the SL could be a camera which is "not in the way" because its fast, has a nice viewfinder, and -from first impression- a relatively logic and simple UI.
 

Doc Wing

New member
These were taken yesterday with the SL with the Leica T 18-56 zoom 12500 ISO
good fast AF - of course it's

Hi Jono,

Loved these two shots.

I will be using the camera, once I get it on Thursday, mainly with M lenses but if I was going to get a zoom lens, I would want something small like this lens.

How does it compare with the giant SL 24-90?
Worth getting or better to switch m lenses for different shots?
Notice any appreciable problems printing photos taken with T lenses on the SL?
Also, what's the quality of the T 23mm f/2 on the SL? Any samples to share?

Thx a million,

Doc Wing.
 

ashwinrao1

Active member
Others have commented on the lovely subtle colors coming from the SL's sensor, and I would hasten to agree. Here are a few from a recent foggy day here in Seattle:







All of these images just had a quick auto tone adjustment in LR. AWB was the settling
 

D&A

Well-known member
Ashwin, may I ask what lenses were used for these three images? The color palette of the SL really comes through (apparently the sensor's fingerprint so to speak) and is readily seen in most of the SL images I've viewed so far. Lovely and a definite plus in my opinion. It doean't appear overly saturated but still has plenty of punch and depth. Seems to strike a very good balance in this regard. Looking forward to seeing and hearing more.

Dave (D&A)
 
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